


sweet to me

by yunyeos



Category: Cignature (Band)
Genre: Baking, F/F, Fluff, haeun is sad and bad at self care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:41:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23021893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yunyeos/pseuds/yunyeos
Summary: When Haeun doesn’t seem to feel any better, Hyeonju knocks on her door.
Relationships: Jin Hyeonju | Belle/Kim Haeun | Ye Ah
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	sweet to me

Haeun prefers to deal with her problems on her own. Whenever she is sad, she usually solves it with a social media detox and an immersive drama series, but this current slump in her mood has lasted longer than usual. 

This bout of sadness may be attributed to stress, but she suspects that loneliness plays a part in it, as well. 

When Haeun doesn’t seem to feel any better, Hyeonju knocks on her door. 

Haeun knows it’s Hyeonju knocking because the latter sent a text earlier that day saying she’d come over. It wasn’t a question, but an inarguable statement. Hyeonju may be small, but she’s fierce and persistent, and Haeun has never successfully denied her before. She left Hyeonju on read, knowing that the timestamp would suffice. 

Haeun goes to answer the door, but realizes that she’s still dressed in her sleepwear. Her hair is a completely separate problem, but she quickly solves it by tying it back. She’s struck by the unfamiliar sensation of not having her hair framing her face. She picks up a throw blanket and drapes the cloth across her shoulders, slightly concealing herself. 

Ready to pick up the door, she cracks it open slightly. Hyeonju stands there expectantly. 

“Hey, Hyeonju!” Haeun greets with a tight smile. 

“Haeun.” Hyeonju says, and the flat tone of her voice makes Haeun’s stomach drop. It’s her serious voice, Hyeonju’s way of showing concern. 

“It’s been a while, right? Sorry to make you worry. Well, I’m fine. Totally fine. Really!” 

Hyeonju only lifts a brow, unconvinced. “You haven’t responded to us in almost two weeks.” 

Haeun’s face falls. Has it really been that long? 

Hyeonju reads the shock on Haeun’s face and pushes the door open a little bit wider, revealing the unruly state of Haeun’s apartment. Haeun normally prefers to keep her living space tidy, but she didn’t even notice how wild her own living room looked, especially to a visitor. 

Haeun steels herself with a deep breath, preparing to be scolded or ridiculed. Maybe Hyeonju will recognize her as a lost cause and just leave. 

Except Hyeonju doesn’t judge her or say anything rude, just steps inside and turns to Haeun, who is wearing a petrified expression. 

“Take a shower. I don’t mean that in a rude way,” Hyeonju says. Haeun curls the blanket against her body even tighter. “I’m serious. You will feel a lot better after. And don’t lock your door, I’m going to bring some stuff up.” 

Haeun only nods and goes to her bathroom without protest. She showers, and once she steps out, she’s surprised at how refreshed she feels, and even picks out a new set of clothes for herself. When Haeun walks out, clean and newly dressed, she hears shuffling from the kitchen. 

In the middle of the kitchen stands Hyeonju, wearing a simple white apron. Her long curly hair is tied back, and it’s as if she’s turned Haeun’s simple, bare-bones kitchen into a mini-bakery. 

Haeun stares at her countertops that were once barren, but are now covered with ingredients such as flour, brown sugar, butter, milk, and eggs. There are a few other baking ingredients which Haeun doesn’t know the name of, along with a simple muffin pan, and a stand mixer. Haeun stares at the contraption, then at Hyeonju, amazed how she could transport these items so quickly. 

Hyeonju spots Haeun standing there, shellshocked, and picks up a small container from the countertop that Haeun didn’t notice. She hands it to Haeun with a clean metal spoon. 

“This was just some of my leftovers. Promise you’ll try to cook for yourself, or let me know if you’re hungry, and not live off of ramen and takeout food? Before you deny it, I saw your trashcan,” Hyeonju adds. 

“I... I’ll try.” Haeun takes the container of food, the underside warm under her palm. She lifts the lid slightly and her mouth waters a little at the aroma of homemade cooking. “This smells great, Hyeonju, thank you... and I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize to me. Just eat,” Hyeonju waves her off. 

Haeun leans against the counter, taking small bites of the fried rice and chicken. It’s delicious, and Hyeonju made it, which makes Haeun tear up a little. 

She watches Hyeonju bustle about her kitchen, gathering bowls and small cups to measure all the ingredients into. 

“Do you... need any help?” Haeun asks hesitantly. 

Hyeonju gives her a brief glance and smiles. “Once you finish your food, I’m sure I’ll need you then.” 

Haeun finishes the container of food until her spoon is lightly scraping against the surface of plastic. Hyeonju only gives her a smirk and shrugs, allowing her to help. 

They make cupcakes and only stumble across a chance to ruin the batter only once, when Hyeonju tried to make Haeun laugh as she was measuring the vanilla extract and she just about pours the entire bottle into the bowl. The cupcakes enter the oven safely, however, despite the initial trouble with getting it to work; Hyeonju should’ve known that Haeun never used her oven to begin with. 

The icing is store-bought. Haeun slightly lifts the spoon that’s submerged in the icing. Feeling a little mischievous, she dips her finger into the smooth mixture and smears the icing across Hyeonju’s cheek. 

“Ah!” Hyeonju lets out a little startled squeak and wipes the batter off with her thumb. She narrows her eyes at Haeun, but doesn’t do anything else. 

“Could you please get that towel for me?” Hyeonju asks, and Haeun goes to fetch it and hand it to her. 

Before she knows it, Hyeonju’s finger swipes against Haeun’s nose, which is now cold with icing. Haeun gasps and quickly cleans her nose with the towel, pouting when Hyeonju giggles at her. 

As they wait for the cupcakes to bake, Hyeonju cleans up the ingredients and countertops while Haeun washes the dishes. 

Haeun has a lot on her mind, and there’s even more she wants to know when she glances at Hyeonju, who’s scrubbing at what she believes to be a stain on her countertop with a determined look. 

“I think that spot has always been there,” Haeun comments. 

“I knew that!” Hyeonju says and moves to wipe another part of her kitchen. 

“What have you been up to?” Haeun asks, the curiosity eating at her. 

Hyeonju smiles. She recites her day, which is objectively uneventful but Haeun hangs onto every word with rapt attention. Hyeonju retells what’s happened in their friend circle, correctly assuming that Haeun hasn’t checked her social media recently. It’s nice, Haeun finds herself filled with warm feelings as she hears what her friends have gotten up to, from travelling to another country, to getting a new dog, or even picking up a new hobby. 

“As for me, I’ve been taking lessons at Jiwon’s academy.” 

“Jin Hyeonju? Dancing?” Haeun’s eyes widen. 

“Hey, I’m better than you think!” 

“I need to see this for myself.” 

They talk some more as the cupcakes are left to cool on top of a folded towel, and once they’ve cooled, they apply the icing, and keep the conversation going. It’s been a while since Haeun has had such a lasting conversation, she realizes. It’s so easy to be with Hyeonju, that Haeun loses track of time, down to the last cupcake. 

“You can keep everything for when I come back,” Hyeonju tells her. 

“And this?” Haeun looks at the stand mixer. 

“This obviously comes with me. I can’t trust you with such an expensive thing,” Hyeonju says, to which Haeun laughs at, agreeing. She helps Hyeonju carry the machine to her car, despite the latter’s protests that she doesn’t need any help. 

They’re in the parking lot, but Haeun doesn’t want to say goodbye. 

“Haeun.” Hyeonju says. She touches Haeun’s wrist gently, and Haeun stares at her hand, focusing on its softness and intent, as Hyeonju’s fingers wrap around her and squeeze to get her to focus. “We care about you. I care about you. You have my number, so don’t be a stranger, okay?” 

“I know,” Haeun smiles genuinely, and pulls Hyeonju into a hug. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Thank you.” 

That night, Haeun sleeps feeling satisfied and a little bit better. She awakens in the morning and her mind isn’t as clouded as it used to be. She leaves her apartment and retrieves a mountain of mail, and spends the majority of her morning sifting through it. 

Halfway through the pile, Haeun recognizes that she is hungry, or maybe she hears a small, but fierce and persistent voice in her head urging her to eat. She sends a text to Hyeonju, inviting her over as she was told to, and takes out one cupcake. 

Haeun takes a bite, and as she does so, she fondly thinks of a girl with curly hair who tried her best to brighten her dark day and introduce some sweetness to her life.


End file.
